Japan and coal

Coal imports
The U.S. Geological Survey states that "Coal imports by Japan reached 186 Mt [million tonnes - ed] in 2007, which was an increase of 5.2% compared with those of 2006. Of the total, thermal coal accounted for 54%; coking coal, 43%; and anthracite, 3%. Coking coal imports increased by only 0.4% to 80 Mt whereas thermal coal imports increased by 10.2% to 101 Mt. Imports from Australia, which accounted for 61% of the total tonnage, increased by 9.8% to 113 Mt and those from Indonesia, which accounted for 18% of the total, increased by 3.5% to 33 Mt. Imports from China, which accounted for 8% of the total, however, decreased by 26.7% to 15 Mt.

Canadian province and Japan ink deal
In January 2011, Saskatchewan and Japan signed an agreement to work together on clean coal and carbon capture and storage. The Canadian province and the Japan Coal Energy Center — which represents more than 100 companies — signed a memorandum of understanding to encourage more co-operation on so-called clean coal technologies. The province stated the agreement would set the stage for information exchanges and research projects involving scientists and companies in both jurisdictions. The province stated that Japanese investment in Saskatchewan carbon capture and storage projects as a result. Saskatchewan Energy Minister Bill Boyd said the initiative would help industries and utilities reduce their environmental footprints. Saskatchewan is currently Canada's third-largest coal producer and also relies on coal to supply 62 per cent of the province's energy.

Thermal power stations
On its website, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan lists 53 power stations with a capacity of 1,000MW or greater. Of these, 14 are coal-fired and a further two are coal and oil fired stations. Four of the 14 listed coal fired power stations are owned and operated by Electric Power Development Co.,which is commonly referred to by its J-POWER treading name. J-Power is not a member of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan.

The sixteen wholly or partly coal-fired power stations are:


 * the 1,650MW Tomato-atsuma power station, which is owned by Hokkaido Power Company ;
 * the 2,000MW Haramachi power station which is owned by Tohoku Power Company ;
 * the 1200MW Noshiro power station which is owned by the Tohoku Power Company;
 * the 3,800MW Hirono power station which is owned by the Tokyo Power Company. This power station is fueled by a mix of crude oil, fuel oil and coal.
 * the 1000MW Hitachinaka power station which is owned by the Tokyo Power Company;
 * the 4100MW Hekinan power station which is owned by the Chubu Power Company;
 * the 1500MW Toyama Shinko power station which is owned by the Hokuriku Power Company. This power station is fueled by a mix of crude oil, fuel oil and coal.
 * the 1200MW Nanaoota Shinko power station which is owned by the Hokuriku Power Company.
 * the 1200MW Tsuruga power station which is owned by the Hokuriku Power Company;
 * the 1000MW Misumi power station which is owned by the Chugoku Power Company;
 * the 1000MW Shin Onoda power station which is owned by the Chugoku Power Company;
 * the 1400MW Reihoku power station which is owned by the Kyushu Power Company;
 * the 2100MW Tachibanawan power station which is owned by the Electric Power Development Company comprising two 1050MW units which were commissioned in July 2000 and December 2000 respectively
 * the 2000MW Matsuura power station which is owned by the Electric Power Development Company which comprises two 1,000MW units which were commissioned in June 1990 and July 1997 respectively;
 * the 1300MW Takehara power station which is owned by the Electric Power Development Company, which comprises three units; the 250MW unit no 1 was commissioned in July 1967; the 350MW No 2 was converted from being an oil-fired power station to coal and re-commissioned in June 1995; and the 700MW No 3 which was commissioned in March 1983; and
 * the 1000MW Matsushima power station which is owned by the Electric Power Development Company which comprises two 500MW units which were commissioned in January 1981 and June 1981 respectively;

In addition, the Electric Power Development Company, owns and operates three other coal-fired power stations in addition to those listed above. These are:
 * the Isogo power station comprising two 600MW units, the New No 1 was commissioned in March 2002 and the New No 2 is currently under construction and scheduled to be commissioned in 2010/2011.
 * the Ishikawa power station comprising two 250MW units which were commissioned in November 1986 and March 1987 respectively; and
 * the Takasago power station, comprising two 250MW units which were commissioned in July 1968 and January 1969 respectively;
 * Sumitomo Metals Kashima power station

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan
 * Global use and production of coal
 * Australia and coal
 * Britain and coal
 * China and coal
 * Colombia and coal
 * Germany and coal
 * Indonesia and coal
 * New Zealand and coal
 * South Africa and coal
 * United States and coal

External Articles

 * International Energy Agency, "Coal in Japan in 2005", International Energy Agency website, accessed June 2008.
 * U.S. Geological Survey, Japan 1994-2007

[Category:National and international coal profiles]]